Runhappy overcomes slow start to win Phoenix

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Runhappy lived up to all the hype when overcoming a number of obstacles Friday in winning the 163rd running of the Grade 3, $250,000 Phoenix Stakes on a rainy opening day of the Keeneland fall meet.

Racing over a sloppy track while facing older stakes horses for the first time, Runhappy overcame a tardy start from his rail post to win the six-furlong race by 1 3/4 lengths, returning $4.80 as the favorite in a field of 11 after finishing in 1:09.96. Barbados was up in the final jump to get second from Work All Week, the 2-1 second choice who gave closest chase to Runhappy for most of the trip.

Making the win all the more impressive for Runhappy was the fact that after he steadily bore out while maintaining a clear lead down the stretch, the Super Saver colt crossed under the wire with jockey Edgar Prado nearly on his flanks as the saddle appeared to have slipped backward.

“He is a very fast horse,” Prado said. “I just kept him going to the wire.”

As soon as the Phoenix field broke from the gate, as Runhappy spotted the opposition two or three lengths, “I was saying, ‘Come on, come on, come on, come on!’ ” said Maria Borell, who trains the 3-year-old Runhappy for Houston furniture dealer Jim “Mattress Mac” McIngvale.

Fortunately for Runhappy, none of the opposition angled inward after the break, allowing Prado to gun his mount up the rail and to the lead, which the colt made in 21.52 seconds before continuing to the quarter pole in 44.81.

“This is like a dream come true,” said Borell, 31. “We’re going to the Breeders’ Cup. This horse is handling everything thrown at him.”

The Phoenix is a Win and You’re In event for the Oct. 31 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland. Runhappy, based about 10 miles from Keeneland at the Thoroughbred Center training facility, came into the Phoenix off a spectacular victory in the King’s Bishop on the Aug. 29 Travers undercard at Saratoga, a Grade 1 race in which he earned an eye-catching 113 Beyer Speed Figure and gained an untold number of admirers in the process.

A $200,000 purchase at the 2013 Keeneland September yearling sale, Runhappy has won five of six career starts. He earned $150,000 on Friday to lift his bankroll to $481,300.

After the top three, the order was Holy Boss, Gentlemen’s Bet, A.P. Indian, Alsvid, Nates Mineshaft, Waco, Fast Anna, and Bump Start. Sharp Sensation was an early scratch.

The $2 exacta (1-3) paid $46.20, the $1 trifecta (1-3-12) returned $85.40, and the 10-cent superfecta (1-3-12-4) was worth $33.59.

Attendance on the dank, chilly day was 11,601.